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Caitlin Clark Gets Apology From Reporter After Viral Press Conference Gaffe: ‘I’m Part of the Problem’

rebecca iannucci
·3 min read

Basketball phenom and recent WNBA recruit Caitlin Clark has received an apology for an uncomfortable moment during her Indiana Fever press conference on Wednesday.

In an interaction that quickly went viral after Clark’s introductory presser with her new team, Indianapolis Star reporter Gregg Doyel began his question to Clark by giving her the same heart-hands gesture she often flashes to the crowd during basketball games.

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“You like that?” Clark asked upon seeing the gesture, to which Doyel responded, “I like that you’re here.”

“I do that at my family after every game, so it’s pretty cool,” Clark answered, prompting this reply from Doyel: “OK, well, start doing it to me, and we’ll get along just fine.”

Though Clark didn’t appear to have a noticeably negative reaction to Doyel’s comment, the moment immediately drew criticism on social media, spotlighting the differences in how male and female athletes are spoken to by reporters.

“I’m devastated to realize I’m part of the problem,” Doyel wrote Wednesday night in an Indianapolis Star column. “I screwed up Wednesday during my first interaction with No. 1 overall draft pick Caitlin Clark of the Indiana Fever.”

Doyel noted that although he’s “sort of known locally, sigh, for having awkward conversations with people before asking brashly conversational questions,” he realized that those potentially uncomfortable moments are usually shared with male athletes and coaches.

“On the one hand, yes absolutely, male and female athletes should be treated the same. I’m talking about coverage, respect, compensation, terminology, you name it,” he continued. “This is where I was, convinced I was harmless and right, when a woman I deeply respect told me, ‘But Caitlin Clark is a young woman, and you don’t talk to a young woman the same as you would a young man.’ And my heart dropped. Because now I saw it: After years of being so sure I was on the right side of these arguments, I was now on the wrong side, and for the oldest reason known to man and woman: Ignorance.

“After going through denial, and then anger – I’m on the wrong side of this? Me??? – I now realize what I said and how I said it was wrong, wrong, wrong,” Doyel concluded. “I mean it was just wrong. Caitlin Clark, I’m so sorry.”

It’s been an otherwise excellent week for Clark, who on Monday was drafted first overall by the Indiana Fever after a stunning final season with the Iowa Hawkeyes. She helped drive ESPN’s draft coverage to record ratings — 2.45 million viewers, quadruple the previous viewership high — and, a few days earlier, popped by Saturday Night Live‘s Weekend Update desk to roast Michael Che for his history of sexist sports jokes.

What do you make of Doyel’s apology to Clark? Tell us in a comment below.

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